The qualification for the tournament was carried out in two phases. The five strongest Asian national teams qualified directly for the finals. These five teams include defending champions North Korea , China , Australia , Japan and South Korea . The other eleven teams played in two qualifying rounds for the remaining three places in the finals.
In the first qualifying round from April 25 to May 3, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ), the five weakest teams met. The five teams played each against each other for three places in the second qualifying round. The second qualifying round was played in three groups of three teams each. Within these groups, everyone against everyone was played. The three group winners qualified for the final round.